PETALING JAYA, 12 May 2009: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has expressed hope that the Perak sultan will agree to dissolve the state assembly.

Describing it as “the decent thing to do”, the Umno veteran said it was “also the only way out of a crisis which has already spiralled out of Perak, damaged the rule of law, compromised the judiciary, the police and the state civil service, and damaged the monarchy in public opinion.”

“This judgement brings to a head some of the consequences of our constitutional misadventure in Perak.

“The government led by (Barisan Nasional-installed) Datuk Seri Dr Zambry (Abdul Kadir) was all along illegitimate, and all decisions and contracts made by that government are without legal status.

“The cascade of illegalities we warned of must now be unwound painfully. This includes the deplorable events of May 7 in Ipoh. It means the resolution to replace the speaker was brought by an illegal state government,” Tengku Razaleigh said.

He said the events in the state assembly on 7 May and the attempts to inflame the issue into one of race and treason had embarrassed the monarchy.

“Such attempts only hurt the institutions they claim to protect, and they hurt Umno and BN (Barisan Nasional),” Tengku Razaleigh said.

He said Umno was not well served by leaders that place short term political objectives above the constitution. “Our ideals are cheated when the monarchy we claim to protect is brought down to the level of desperate political manoeuvres that discredit us at home and abroad.”

Tengku Razaleigh also said Umno had no future if it is seen as being against the people.

He said it was better for BN to risk losing state elections than to lose the entire country by being seen to be opposed to decency, the rule of law, and the people’s will.

I believe most rakyat will agree that this political issue can only be resolved through new state elections. The way Umno/BN tried to hang on to power and their reactions after the High Court judgment gives the perception that they indeed fear facing the rakyat.